


Come Here Often?

by xXHetaliaXAmericaXx



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Doctor/Patient, Everyone at the Hospital Knows That They're Pining and, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, Klance Holiday Exchange 2017, M/M, Major Character Injury, Most People Find It Annoying By Panic! At the Disco, Mutual Pining, no one dies I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 18:22:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13416981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXHetaliaXAmericaXx/pseuds/xXHetaliaXAmericaXx
Summary: “Passed out buying medicine?” When he hears a confirmation hum, he looks back over at Lance. “What were you buying medicine for?”Lance coughs again, covering his mouth before looking at Keith, frowning. “Obviously I was there to buy Viagra.”Keith rolls his eyes, lips tugging up a bit and shakes his head. “Have trouble getting it up? Good to know.”~~~~~~~~~When Keith picked up that extra shift in the Emergency Room, he never expected to have a hot Cuban man with a broken ankle as his patient that told bad puns--especially at midnight on a Wednesday.He never expected to see him again once he left, but when he has an encore performance a month later, he finally worked up the courage to ask him out.But the last thing Keith expected was the repeat visits after that--especially how they happened.





	Come Here Often?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I was selected as a pinch hitter for the Klance Holiday Gift Exchange for geewuun on Tumblr! They wanted to see Doctor Keith with Patient Lance--and they had such awesome ideas on their wishlists and I tried incorporating them as best as I could while writing as quickly as possible (I wanted to get this out earlier, but I wanted to make sure it was in great condition to give to ya) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Keith was three cups of coffee into his shift, and it wasn’t even midnight yet. The 12 hour shifts at the hospital were the worst—especially when he was working in the emergency room. If he sees another alcohol poisoning or drunk driver this evening, he was going to punch a wall. He looks over the chart of his next patient, grumbling into his coffee cup as his eyes scan the form. _Broken leg? This late at night?_   That’s unusual—most broken limbs come in during the day—mainly kids breaking their arms or legs when playing—but sometimes their arms break in a less fun way—which is usually the case this late at night. He checks the age of the patient, breathing out a sigh of relief when he sees that the patient is an adult. _Good, I don’t want to make another call to CPS._

 

His supervising doctor, Dr. Allura Altea, walks over and pats his shoulder. “How are you handling, Keith?”

 

Keith groans, his head falling on the counter with a loud thud. “I’m waiting for death to take me into his cold embrace and put me out of my misery.

 

Dr. Altea chuckles, patting Keith’s back before taking his computer to look over his work. “C’mon, you’ll get used to the long shifts over time.”

 

Keith lifts his head, shooting Allura a deadpan expression. “I highly doubt that.”

 

Allura rolls her eyes, shoving Keith’s laptop back towards him and bumping his shoulder. “Just finish your coffee and go see your new patient—he just got out of x-ray.”

 

“Alright—Alright—I’m going.” He yawns, setting his laptop down and running a hand through his greasy hair, making a mental note to take a shower the moment he gets home at 6 AM before passing out for a week. He closes his laptop and picks it up, deciding to go visit his latest patient so that they could fix him up and send him home. He goes to room 32E and knocks on the side of the entrance, pulling the curtain back a bit and peeks in. “Lance McClain?” He asks, looking at the tall, lanky man (maybe Hispanic or Cuban?) sitting on the hospital bed with his swollen ankle elevated.

 

The man nods, bright smile on his face despite being in the ER at 11:30 pm on a Tuesday. “Yep! The one and only!”

 

Keith nods, walking over to hold a hand out to Lance. “I’m Dr. Kogane, I’ll be your doctor today.”

 

Lance grins, reaching out and shaking Keith’s hand. “You come here often?”

 

 Keith hears a groan, turning to look at the tired man sitting in the chair next to the bed. “Lance—can’t you stop for one minute?”

 

Keith looks back at Lance and raises an eyebrow, slowly pulling his hand away. “Yes…? I work here.”

 

Lance looks over at the guy sitting in the chair—maybe his brother or friend? —and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.  “You can’t stop this flirt machine, Hunk.”

 

Hunk rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow questionably. “Even with your ankle busted?”

 

Lance smiles wider, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. “My leg may be broken,” he looks over at Keith, winking and shooting a finger gun at him, “but I can still run around your mind all day.”

 

Keith laughs, but quickly covers it up with a cough before he looks away. He opens his laptop, pulling up Lance’s file and reviewing his information. “Can you tell me how you broke your ankle?”

 

“I tripped.” 

 

Keith hums, setting his laptop down on the counter and starting to type away. “How did you trip?”

 

“I saw the cute doctor working here and tripped when I fell for him.” Lance smiles playfully, ignoring his friend’s groan at his corny pickup line.

 

Keith stops typing, looking over at Lance and raising an eyebrow. “You really want me to write that on here? Your insurance company and primary care doctor sees this, Y’know.”

 

Lance’s face falls and he glances away, running a hand through his hair and mumbling under his breath. “…fell out of a tree.”

 

Keith goes back to typing, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “That’s more realistic.”

 

Lance looks over at Keith and narrows his eyes. “You think I’m lying?”

 

Keith looks over at Lance with a deadpan expression, his voice falling flat. “It’s almost midnight in the middle of the week—who’s climbing trees when its dark outside?”

 

Lance puffs out cheeks out, suddenly getting defensive. “I do—I was getting my friend’s cat out of a tree.”

 

“Oh…” Keith blinks, not expecting such a selfless answer from the man lying on the bed. “That’s…actually kinda sweet.”

 

Lance blushes a bit and smiles shyly, running a hand through his hair. “I guess so?”

 

Keith smiles, just a slight upturn of his lips before he finishes typing on Lance’s chart and closing his laptop. “Alright—let’s get your ankle set and wrapped in a cast.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Alright—cast is all set—a nurse will be in to fit you to a pair of crutches and registration will help you with the checkout process.” Dr. Kogane slips his gloves off and starts gathering up his supplies, shooting a small smile at Lance and causing his heart to stutter.

Lance glances at his cast, kicking himself for being careless enough to break his ankle in the first place—but at least his doctor was cute. _Even if he has a mullet… but it looks cute in a ponytail._ He shoots his best flirtatious smile at the doctor, shooting his patented finger guns at him. “Well, since you just plastered my foot, maybe we can go get a few drinks and get _plastered_ ourselves? Whatcha say, doc?”

 

Dr. Kogane pauses, seeming to bite back some sort of remark before looking at Lance over his shoulder and shrugging. “Sure—but my shift ends at 6 AM and all the bars close at 3.” He picks up the last of his things, then goes to walk out of the room and out of Lance’s life. He stops at the door, then around and shoots a playful smile at Lance. “Just a heads up, I don’t find health-related puns funny anymore since I started suffering from an irony deficiency.” He smirks, then quickly walks out of the room, leaving Lance with his jaw hitting the floor.

 

Lance reaches out and grabs Hunk’s arm, letting out a low whine as he falls back on the bed. “He knows bad puns Hunk—I think I’m in love.”

 

Hunk yawns, exhausted from being up so late in the middle of the week. “You’re always in love—last month you were “in love” with Nyma—last week it was Plaxum—”

 

“Hey—I’m serious this time—he’s the one.” Lance swoons, reaching up and fanning himself. “Did you see his cheekbones? And that _ass_? Why is he a doctor? He should be a super model.”

 

Hunk reaches out and pats his friend’s shoulder affectionately. “Too bad you didn’t get his number, huh?”

 

Lance pauses, then sits up quickly and goes to try to stand up. “Shit—Hunk—fuck—Dr. Kogane!” He ends up rolling over and falling out of bed, groaning as he rolls on his back and rubs his sore shoulder.

 

Hunk gets up and helps Lance back up onto the bed, tisking and shaking his head. “You’re in no position to walk anywhere, bro.”

 

“But bro—he could be my _soulmate._ ”

 

“If he is, you’ll see each other again.” Hunk tries to reassure him, rubbing Lance’s arm as a nurse comes in.

 

“Lance McClain?” Lance peeks up at the nurse and nods, sitting up and stretching his long limbs out. She smiles, walking in with a pair of crutches. “I’m here to fit you to your crutches.”

 

Lance smiles crookedly, swinging his good leg to dangle off the edge of the bed as he slowly moves his broken ankle to the edge of the bed. “Alright.” He tries to look past the nurse to where she left the curtain cracked, trying to get another glance at his hot doctor. Hoping that he could get his number this time.

 

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

 

“Keith, you’ve had cute patients before, why do you keep bringing this one up?” Allura asks, taking a sip of her coffee as she stares at the pining man sitting next to her at the hospital café.

 

Keith groans, letting his head fall forward and bang against the table. “I don’t know! I just can’t get him out of my head! Maybe it’s because he seemed interested? Or the bad puns? I don’t know—he asked me if I wanted to get plastered once I finished putting his cast on him—who does that?”

 

Allura rolls her eyes, taking a long sip of her coffee before setting her cup down on the table. “Did you call me in on my rare day off just to gush about your crush?”

 

Keith blushes, looking away and crossing his arms across his chest defensively. “No—”

 

Allura raises an eyebrow, humming as she takes a slow slip of her coffee. She sets her coffee cup down, then rests her elbows on the table. “You should have given him your number.”

 

Keith groans, letting his head fall forward to hit the table again. “I know—but I was nervous—his friend was there too, and wouldn’t it be awkward or against the rules to hit on a patient?”

 

“That’s why you wait until they’re discharged—then ask them out.” Allura hums, sipping her coffee and raising her eyebrows at Keith, chuckling as he groans and bumps his head on the table again.

 

“Great—now you tell me—about a month too late but thanks.” He sighs, seeming to deflate further and huffing. “My break’s almost over—guess I should get back to the ER.”

 

Allura nods, finishing up her coffee before throwing the empty cup away. “Yeah, especially cus your break ended five minutes ago.”

 

Keith’s eyes widen as he checks his watch, finding the hands completely still, signaling that his watch battery died. “Shit—I gotta go—see you later ‘Llura." He grabs his coffee, standing up so fast that his chair knocked over as he runs back to his floor. He made a mental note to apologize to the café workers next time he saw them, quickly making himself over to the ER as his pager goes off. He stops only when he makes it to the ER wing, bending over and putting a hand on his knees as he tries to catch his break.

 

_Man, I gotta get back in shape._

 

“You’re late, _Dr. Kogane._ ” Keith looks up at the man addressing him, swallowing nervously when he spots Nurse Coran looking down at him, one hand on his hip and the other twirling his bright, orange mustache around. Shit—Keith forgot that the head nurse was covering a shift for the ER today.

 

He forces a smile on his face, trying to camouflage how nervous he really was. “Hey—Hey Coran. Sorry—I got caught up talking with Dr. Allura and my watch stopped working—”

 

Coran waves his hand to cut Keith off mid-sentence, causing him to swallow nervously. “No excuses. You’re here now, that’s all that matters. Now—you got a patient in room 74E who passed out—I already took his EKG and the readings are normal. So now you gotta figure out what’s wrong with him.”

 

Keith breathes out a sigh of relief, glad that he didn’t have to face Nurse Coran’s wrath that day. Keith walks over to the desk to get his laptop, pulling up the chart that was sent to him and pauses when he sees the familiar name. “ _Lance McClain?_ Is it really—”

 

He closes his laptop and picks it up, quickly making his way over to 74E and pulling the curtain back. He pauses just inside the doorway, shocked as he sees a familiar face that’s been on his mind for the last month. His face was off color—looking more ashy than usual, and his breathing was a little shallow, but once he saw the cast on his foot and that mop of brown hair there was no doubt in Keith’s mind that this was the same man from before. He smiles crookedly, stepping into the room and closing the curtain behind him. “Lance McClain?”

 

Lance slowly opens his eyes, a stunning shade of blue despite being ill. His lips tug up in a smile, scooting back on the bed so that he could sit up slightly. “Hey—,” He cuts off, coughing and clearing his throat before looking back up at Keith, “Dr. Kogane, right? Fancy seeing you here.”

 

Keith blushes, surprised that Lance even remembered his name at all—most people forgot the moment they walked out the door. “Yep.” He opens his laptop and sets it on top of one of the dressers, pulling up Lance’s chart to look it over. “So, you fainted?” He glances over in time to see Lance nod, then looks back over at the chart to add his own notes. “What were you doing when you fainted?”

 

Lance remains silent, causing Keith to look over at Lance and raise an eyebrow curiously at him. “C’mon, Lance. I need to know for your chart.”

 

Lance glances away, nervously biting his bottom lip before speaking. “Well… I was _trying_ to buy cold medicine at CVS. But I suddenly got dizzy and the next thing I know I’m on my back and someone’s calling 911.”

 

Keith hums and adds the notes to his chart, talking to Lance as he looks at his screen. “Passed out buying medicine?” When he hears a confirmation hum, he looks back over at Lance. “What were you buying medicine for?”

 

Lance coughs again, covering his mouth before looking at Keith, frowning. “Obviously I was there to buy Viagra.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes, lips tugging up a bit and shakes his head. “Have trouble getting it up? Good to know.”

 

“No! No, no, no!” He starts coughing again, then groans as he throws his head back. “I was getting cold medicine.”

 

Keith grins, typing and making a note on the chart before he sanitizes his hands and puts on a pair of gloves. “What symptoms do you have?”  

 

Lance tilts his head as he looks up, trying to recount all his symptoms. “Coughing, wheezing, nausea,” He coughs, curling in a bit on himself, “Ugh—been throwing up for a few days too.”

 

Keith furrows his brows, walking over to Lance and moving his stethoscope from around his neck. “I’m gonna listen to your lungs—okay?” He waits for Lance to nod, then puts the ear pieces in his ears and puts the end to Lance’s chest. “Breathe.” He listens to the sound of Lance’s chest, moving the stethoscope around a bit before taking it out of his ears and laying it against his neck.  “Alright—were gonna run a few blood tests and take an x-ray of your chest—make sure it’s not some kind of infection. Okay?”

 

Lance smiles crookedly and nods, adjusting a bit in the bed again. “Alright doc.”

 

Keith types up his findings in Lance’s chart, putting in the blood work request and the chest x-ray before closing his laptop. “Alright. I’ll be back in a bit.”

 

Lance pouts slightly, “Aww, can’t you stay?”

 

Keith smiles crookedly, holding his laptop by his side, “Sorry, got other patients to see.”

 

Lance gasps, putting a hand on his chest and cracking a small smile. “Dr. Kogane, you see other patients behind my back?”

 

Keith laughs, starting out as a small chuckle and turning into full-blown _cackling_ —he doesn’t mean to, but he does. The joke wasn’t even that funny—a light chuckle, maybe, but not worth a belly aching laugh that he was laughing now. Maybe he laughed because he was tired, maybe because it was a cute guy who said it; or maybe, just maybe, he laughed because he needed to—because he was surrounded by death and sadness daily, and he needed to remind himself that there was still good in the world.

 

It takes him a few minutes for him to compose himself, reaching up to wipe a stray tear from the corner of his eye. He looks over at Lance, smiling a bit wider as he sees the wide smile plastered on his face. He takes in a deep breath, leaning against the doorway and smiling happily. “Maybe so, McCain.” He turns around and walks out of Lance’s room, unable to wipe the smile from his face. He knew he had to see other patients and go over more charts. He knew that his day was most likely going to get worse from here. But that moment with Lance was going to get him through the day.

 

It might even get him through the rest of his week.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“It looks like pneumonia.”

 

“Coran, he’s 25—I highly doubt its pneumonia.” Keith tisks, looking over Lance’s tests results and x-rays again.

 

Coran puts his hands on his hips, looking over Keith’s shoulder at Lance’s chart. “It’s possible for people his age to get pneumonia—it’s probably walking pneumonia.”

 

Keith leans back in his chair and pinches the bridge of his nose, thinking over other possibilities for Lance’s illness. “That’s more common in young children and the elderly.”

 

“Well, what else can it be, then?” Coran asks, resting his elbow on Keith’s shoulder, looking over the chart.

 

Keith huffs, looking over Lance’s chart, hoping the longer he stares at it that the answer was going to just pop out at him.  “I…I don’t know.” He groans, running his hands down his face. “He’s dehydrated—that combined with vomiting most likely caused him to faint. We got to get him started on fluids—and move him to the general part of the hospital so he can be observed overnight. Maybe we can re-test his blood sample to confirm we didn’t get a false-positive?”

 

Coran nods, watching Keith put in another blood test request on Lance’s file. “Maybe so. But I’m almost certain its walking pneumonia.”

 

Keith sighs, putting in the transfer request for Lance to be moved to general admission for overnight monitoring before closing his laptop. “If this blood test comes back with the same results then I’ll diagnose him with walking pneumonia and put him on antibiotics—okay?”

 

Coran smiles, putting his hands in the pockets on his scrubs and starts walking down the hallway. “Alright, Dr. Kogane.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes, standing up and walking back to Lance’s room to give him the news. He gets to the door and pauses at the sound of voices talking inside.

 

“Hunk, buddy, pal, my main man—I swear he got cuter than last time.”

 

“Lance, you say that about every crush you’ve ever had.”

 

_Are they…. talking about me?_

 

He knows he shouldn’t listen—just walk in, tell Lance the results of his bloodwork and about his room transfer, but he really wanted to hear more. _…just another minute wouldn’t hurt, right?_

 

Lance coughs, taking a moment to catch his breath before croaking out. “But it’s _different_. I think I might be in _love_ with him!”

 

Hunk sighs, pausing as if to organize his thoughts before speaking carefully. “You’ve seen him _twice_ , for what, maybe 5 minutes at a time? What do you really know about him besides the fact that he’s a doctor and he’s cute?”

 

“Well—uh—he has an amazing laugh.”

 

“And? What are his hobbies? Favorite color? What’s his family like? _Does he even like guys?_ Y’know, he could be strai—”

 

“Nope! I refuse to believe someone _that_ hot is straight. Nu-uh. No way.”

 

Okay—he’s heard enough. He doesn’t need to be slandered by someone accusing him of being _straight._ (There’s nothing wrong with being straight, but he doesn’t want to be associated with the Straights™ in front of a cute guy who was into him) He knocks on the doorway before quickly pulling the curtain back. “Lance?”

 

Lance blushes, seemingly caught off guard by the ‘hot doctor’ he and his friend was just talking about. He coughs a few times, then leans back and tries to appear nonchalant.  “Oh—hey there—come here often?”

 

Keith couldn’t help but crack a smile, shaking his head as he steps into the room and pulls the curtain back. “I kinda have to—doctor, remember?” 

 

“Oh—yeah—right—” He laughs awkwardly, which brings on another coughing fit.

 

Keith winces a bit, pulling up the wheeling stool and sitting down. “So, we got your test results back—it currently looks like walking pneumonia.”

 

“Wait—pneumonia? Isn’t that serious?” Hunk asks, pulling Keith’s attention away from Lance. “Like, _life threatening_ serious?”

 

“It can be—but luckily walking pneumonia isn’t as serious as some other strains—well, except for young kids and the elderly—but since you’re in your mid-twenties it’s not that serious. All you really need is antibiotics and rest. We’re going to transfer you to the general admissions part of the hospital so that they can monitor you overnight and confirm the diagnosis.”

 

Lance blinks, seeming to take a few minutes to process what he was hearing. “But I thought I just had a regular cold—worst thing I expected was the flu.”

 

“The symptoms of walking pneumonia tend to mimic the symptoms of the flu. But with your CBC test and throat swab ruled the flu out and point towards pneumonia—they’re going to do a blood culture test to confirm before prescribing you antibiotics.”

 

“Wow…” Lance looks up at the ceiling, running a hand down his face before looking over at Hunk, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Guess you can text mama and tell her I’m not dying.”

 

Hunk nods, getting out his phone to send the message. “Got it.”

 

Keith looks between Hunk and Lance, trying to work up the courage to ask Lance for his number. _I can’t just hope he’s going to show up to the ER again…_

 

Before he can talk himself out of it, Keith is grabbing a pamphlet from one of the receptionist carts and quickly scribbling his name and number down, then stands up and holds it out to Lance, cheeks tinted pink and looking away. “Since I won’t see you again before you’re transferred…maybe you want to grab a coffee sometime?”

 

He glances over at Lance quick enough to see his cheeks turn red and his eyes to light up, smiling widely as he reaches out for the pamphlet. Keith quickly pulls it away, making direct eye contact with Lance and raising an eyebrow. “But only once you get better—if I hear a single cough because you got excited about our date and scheduled early I’ll leave.”

 

Lance smiles widely, nodding enthusiastically as he reaches out for the pamphlet. “I promise, I promise!”

 

Keith smiles shyly, handing Lance his number before turning around and walking out the door. “I hope the next time I see you in this hospital you’re just visiting—and not a patient.”

 

 He walks down the hallway, the smile growing on his face. He couldn’t believe that he just asked Lance out—Lance—one of his patients—well, former patient. He was so excited, it had been a _long_ time since he’s been on a date. _And with a cute guy too._

 

He hears a loud cheer from down the hall, a rare sound for the ER wing of the hospital; usually full of tragedies and grief, filled for a moment with a cheer of joy and happiness. Keith couldn’t help but giggle, chest feeling warm as he heads off to see his next patient.

 

He couldn’t help but look forward to Lance’s call.

 

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

 

“So, date night a bust?” Shiro asks, packing up his lunchbox as he grins at Keith.

 

Keith groans, falling in one of the chairs in the breakroom as he throws his head back. “No—it was going great—but I got called in cus one of the other doctors got sick and needed a shift covered.” He runs his hand down his face, letting his head fall to the table and whines. “Shiro—he looked so heartbroken when I had to leave.”

 

After over a month of waiting he and Lance were _finally_ able to schedule a date—and it was wonderful. They had gone to a café for coffee where they had talked for over an hour about the most mundane topics—Keith found out that Lance was the youngest of 3 siblings, and was on the swim team in high school. He heard stories about Lance and his friends, and even occasionally shared a few stories of his own; like the time he and Shiro went out to drinks and they both woke up in a ditch and less clothes than they left with. _God, Lance sure laughed at that story._

 

After that they headed to an arcade where Lance and Keith competed at who could win the most tickets. Lance was surprisingly good at Dance Dance Revolution and shooting games, while Keith excelled at racing games. They were right in the middle of an air hockey match when Keith got called into work.

 

Ugh, work.

 

Shiro reaches over and pats Keith’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay. It’s the norm of dating when you work in a hospital.”

 

Keith glances up at Shiro and pouts. “But what if he decides it’s too much of a hassle to date me? What if he gets tired of all the rescheduling and cancelations and dates someone more available?”

 

Shiro smiles reassuringly, standing up to put his leftovers in the fridge. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes, taking a long sip of his coffee and sighing. “Y’know, you were a lot easier to handle before you gained your “new outlook on life” bullshit.”

 

Shiro chuckles, ruffling Keith’s hair. “You’re just an emo shit-lord with an attitude problem.”

 

Keith grumbles and shoves Shiro away, breathing out a huff. “Don’t you have a physical therapy appointment?”

 

“Technically I got five more minutes to annoy you before my next appointment comes in. So, you’re in luck.” Shiro chuckles, leaning against the counter and sipping his drink.

 

Keith huffs again, standing up and walking towards the door. “Whatever—I’m going to do my rounds.”

 

Shiro waves at Keith, a smile on his face as he calls after Keith. “See you! Hope you can get that stick out your ass!”

 

Keith grumbles as he storms down the hallways, scowl a permanent feature on his face as he starts his rounds. He scans patients charts in between sips of coffee, remembering the sad look on Lance’s face when he said he had to leave. Now he was here—coving a shift and saving lives instead of watching Lance try and fail to win him the stuffed hippo from the rigged crane game. 

 

_Stupid work._

 

Keith sighs, letting the tension out of his shoulders as he tries to shake off his sour attitude. He can only hope that Lance would want to schedule another date with him.

 

But he’s not too hopeful.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Keith groans as he slumps over the desk of the nurse’s station, running low on energy and just wanting his day to be over. “Why is general so busy today?”

 

Coran pushes Keith’s hand away from his computer monitor, then goes back to typing. “It’s that time of year, Keithy boy.”

 

Keith looks up at Coran and narrows his eyes, mumbling softly. “You say that all year long, Coran.”

 

“Well, people get sick all year long.” Coran hums, looking away from his laptop and rolling his chair over to sit in front of Keith. “Are you still upset about your date getting interrupted?”

 

Keith looks away and pouts, folding his arms around his head. “No…” He peeks up at Coran, his resolve starting to cave at the intense gaze of the head nurse. He looks down, running a hand through his hair and mumbling softly. “…okay yes.”

 

Coran sighs, reaching over and patting Keith’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry about winning the boy’s affection.”

 

“But _Coran_ ,” he whines, lifting his head up far enough to prop his chin in his hand, “he’s so funny and sweet—he wanted to win a stuffed hippo for me after finding out hippos are my favorite.” He sighs, looking up at the ceiling and smiling softly. “And he’s just so cute—and has great friends and loves his family—god, he’s perfect.” He frowns, letting his head fall on the desk with a loud thunk. “He probably has people lined up around the corner wanting to date him—why wait around for someone who barely has any free time with a sour attitude?”

 

Coran looks over Keith’s shoulder, spotting the tall Cuban that Keith was ranting about standing behind him, holding a picnic basket. Coran smirks, leaning against his chair and chuckling. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

 

Keith looks over his shoulder, eyes widening and blushing brightly as he sees Lance standing behind him. Y’know, the cute guy he was talking about to Coran (and anyone who would listen) about how great he was and upset that their date was cut short. _Shit—he heard me talking about him—he’s going to think I’m a total weirdo._

 

Lance smiles widely, running a hand through his hair nervously as he looks at Keith, picnic basket in one hand and tote bag in another. He walks up to Keith, his smile only growing as he nudges Keith with his elbow. “Hey there, mullet.”

 

“Hey—” Keith stands up and clears his throat, cheeks bright red as he looks up at Lance, a smile spreading on his face as he gazes into bright blue eyes. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

 

Lance lifts the picnic basket, setting it down on the counter and shrugging nonchalantly. “Well, our date may have got cut short, but I still promised to feed you a nice meal.” He opens the picnic basket to reveal Tupperware containers, plates, silverware, and cans of soda. “So, I figured we could have a little picnic when your next break comes up.”

 

Keith’s jaw falls open, taking in all the information Lance just gave him. In the few hours that Keith was at work, Lance went home and prepared a nice picnic for them to eat in the crummy hospital breakroom. He looks up at Lance and smiles softly, leaning over and gently bumping their shoulders together. “That’s…really sweet of you.”

 

Lance blushes and smiles crookedly, reaching up and running a hand through his hair nervously. “Really? It’s not too forward? Cus Hunk thought that it might be too forward—or that you wouldn’t want to continue our date—y’know, since you got called into work and all.”

 

Keith checks his watch, pouting down at the time. “I got about an hour until my break… Can you wait until then?”

 

Lance smiles, eyes seeming to light up more than before and nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah! Of course! There’s a little park nearby that looks like the _perfect_ spot for a picnic—well—maybe not perfect—but good for short notice. Oh!” He opens the tote bag and smiles at Keith, pulling out the silly stuffed hippo from the crane machine at the arcade. He hands the hippo to Keith, letting their hands brush together and puffing his chest out. “Told you I’d win it for you.”

 

Keith blushes, fingers brushing against Lance’s as he takes the cheap stuffed hippo from Lance. His heart skips a beat and his smile seems to brighten. “You remembered?”

 

Lance rolls his eyes and chuckles. “Yeah—it was only a few hours ago. Spent half an hour just trying to win the damn thing though.”

 

Keith holds the stuffed toy to his chest, heart swelling with affection at the thought of Lance trying too hard to get something for him—even if it’s a cheap stuffed animal. Is it appropriate to kiss someone so soon on the first date? Well, he’s gonna do it anyway. He leans forward and kisses Lance’s cheek, a playful smile tugging at his lips. “Thanks. I love it. See you for dinner in an hour? Meet by the front door?”

 

Lance blushes deeply, nodding as a goofy smile spreads across his face. “Yeah—yeah—see you in an hour.” He turns to start walking away, getting halfway down the hallway before realizing he forgot the picnic basket. “Oh!” He turns around, jogging back to pick up the picnic basket from the counter. He stops in front of Keith, then quickly leans forward to place a chaste kiss on Keith’s cheek before running down the hall. “See you soon!”

 

Keith blushes brightly, jumping at the kiss and swooning once Lance was out of sight. He goes back to leaning against the desk, this time for a different reason than earlier that evening. He holds the stuffed hippo to his chest, looking down the hallway where Lance just left from. “Coran, I think I’m in love.”

 

Coran smiles, reaching out to pat Keith’s shoulder. “Go ahead and take your break early—you’re going to be useless to us until your date anyway.”

 

Keith turns to look at Coran, eyes wide and jaw dropping as he looks at the head nurse. “Really?” He waits until he sees Coran nod, then slams his stethoscope down on the counter and throws off his lab coat. “Thanks Coran!” He grabs the stuffed hippo and runs down the hallway, hoping to find Lance before he left the hospital.

 

Lance was about to get on the elevator when Keith spots him, smiling widely at the sight of him and calling out to him. “Lance!”

 

Lance turns to look at Keith, cheeks tinted pink and smiling brightly. “Keith—”

 

Keith runs into Lance, arms wrapping tightly around him and nearly knocking them down to the floor. He looks up at Lance and grins, holding him tightly. “I’m taking my break early. Want to have that picnic now?”

 

Lance smiles, his free arm wrapping around Keith as he rests his forehead against Keith’s. “That’s alright with me.”

 

Keith smiles, gazing into Lance’s eyes, his heart skipping a beat as he sees Lance’s eyes slide down to his lips before establishing eye contact again. He takes a deep breath, eyes drifting down to Lance’s plush looking lips before looking back up. He wasn’t sure who leaned in first and who started the kiss, but he did remember the butterflies going wild in his stomach and his heart fluttering along in his chest. In that moment, Keith was almost certain.

 

He wanted to marry Lance McClain.

 

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

 

Keith was the happiest that he has ever been. He and Lance had been dating for three years—living together for two—and he couldn’t be happier. Lance was the first serious relationship he’s had in years, maybe even _ever_ , so when Lance suggested they moved in together he was nervous. What if living together made them hate each other? What if Lance’s snores bother him over time? What if Lance is appalled by his horrid hygiene? He didn’t wash his face daily, and didn’t use conditioner in his hair—which Lance does constantly. But his love for Lance allowed him to bite the bullet and take the plunge into living together as a couple. Which was the best decision of his life. Sure, they’ve had their ups and down like couples tend to do—job changes, misunderstandings, and fights—but they’ve been able to overcome any obstacles that came their way; happier and stronger than ever.

 

Keith never had a home growing up—moving around from place to place as a foster child, and with his job the only time he used to be in his apartment was to sleep. But after living with Lance and seeing his smiling face each day he finally knows what it’s like to have a _home_. Not just a house or a place to sleep—but an actual home with someone who loves him, waiting for him to come home.  He didn’t want to even think about a life without Lance.

 

Which was why Keith planned a romantic getaway for them this weekend, where he was going to propose. All he had to do was get through this last 12 hr. shift, and he’ll be on a plane to Cuba with Lance—okay, so the trip was 50% romantic getaway, 50% meeting Lance’s family—but if he’s proposing to Lance his family could become _Keith’s_ family, so meeting them is important.

 

_Well, they would be if Lance says yes._

 

Keith shakes his head, telling himself that there was no way that Lance would say no. They talked about the possibilities of them getting married before, he knows Lance would probably say yes. He just needs to ask Lance—and where’s a better place to propose than Varadero beach—Lance’s favorite place to play as a kid? After a nice trip visiting his family, who he hasn’t had time to see in years and meeting his boyfriend (hopefully fiancé)? He doesn’t want to be too boastful, but he might just win the best boyfriend of the year award.

 

The hospital intercom beeps to gain everyone’s attention, glancing up at the speaker and raising an eyebrow as the voice speaks. “Dr. Kogane, you’re needed in the ER, Dr. Kogane to the ER.”

 

He raises an eyebrow, wondering why he was being called to the ER—he hasn’t covered a shift there in over a year—there shouldn’t be any reason for Keith to be called in. He closes his laptop and makes his way down to the ER wing, walking to the door and getting stopped by Shiro. “Keith—wait.”

 

Keith stops, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest. “What? Didn’t you hear the call? I’m needed in the ER for something.”

 

Shiro winces sympathetically, putting a hand on Keith’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “That’s why I’m here. Now, I need you to stay calm.”

 

“Calm…? I’m always calm—what’s wrong?” His brows furrow, worry starting to manifest in the pit of his stomach. “What’s going on?”

 

Shiro looks down at the ground, reaching up to tug at the sleeve of his prosthetic before sighing and looking up at Keith. “We got called ahead about a car accident—drunk driver slid on a patch of ice and ran into another person’s car. We just got both patient’s in and we’re prepping them for surgery now.”

 

Keith nods, listening to what Shiro was telling him, getting more confused and worried the longer Shiro talked. “And? I’m not a surgeon—do you need me to do post-op evaluations on the patients?”

 

Shiro runs a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath to steady himself before speaking softly. “Keith, Lance was driving the car the drunk driver hit.”

 

Keith pauses, his face falling as he absorbs what Shiro just told him. “No…” He looks towards the ER doors, peeking through the windows to try to get a glance at Lance. “It can’t be him—he said he was preparing for our trip tomorrow—”

 

Shiro places his hands on Keith’s shoulders, trying to keep him steady. “Deep breaths—c’mon Keith. He’ll be fine.”

 

Keith looks up at Shiro, reaching up to grip his wrists tightly. “How bad—how bad is he?” Shiro bites his bottom lip and looks down, answering Keith’s question without saying a single word. “Shiro—where is he?!”

 

“He’s in surgery—” Keith turns around to sprint to surgery, stopping when Shiro grabs his wrist, “Hey! Running off isn’t going to help!”

 

“Shiro! I have to be there—I have to make sure he’s okay—”

 

Shiro wraps an arm around Keith and pulls him into a hug, rubbing at his back to try to calm Keith down. “We have the best team of surgeons and nurses performing the surgery—trust them to do their job.”

 

“But—” He hiccups, tears starting to stream down his face, pain, anxiety, and worry swirling in his chest, causing it to ache as his shoulders shake with his sobs. He hides his face in Shiro’s shoulder, his pseudo-brother saying nothing as he lets Keith cry. “I—I can’t lose him, Shiro.” He hiccups, gripping the front of Shiro’s shirt. “He’s my family—I can’t—” He hiccups again, hiding his face in Shiro’s shirt as his brother holds him tighter.

 

“Deep breaths, Lance is strong—he’ll be okay.” Shiro whispers, holding Keith close and rubbing his back. “Allura is covering the rest of your shift and Coran and Hunk are getting essentials from your place for you and Lance—and Pidge is finding the greasiest comfort food she can find. My shift is already over so I’ll wait with you in the waiting room, okay?”

 

Keith sniffs, leaning back so he can wipe his eyes and nose with the arm of his sleeve before nodding, letting Shiro wrap an arm around his shoulder and guide them towards the waiting room. He didn’t know what to do—what to say—what to _think_ —he was starting to feel numb.

 

Over the next few hours, Keith kept getting visitors with him in the waiting room—Hunk and Coran came with clothes for him and Lance—offering condolences, comforting words, and apologies—trying to be hopeful and cheer Keith up. He didn’t mean to be cold, but Keith didn’t feel any better, their kind words doing nothing to quench the worry camping out in the pit of his stomach. It was after the second hour that Pidge stopped by with two large pizzas with more cheese than grease—Allura even stopped by quickly to check on how he was doing and take a slice of pizza. Keith made himself take a few bites of pizza, knowing that it had been hours since he ate last, but he couldn’t make himself eat much, his stomach so tied up in knots he almost felt nauseous. He knew his friends were trying to be nice and raise his spirits, but nothing they did erased the anxiety and dread brewing in the pit of his stomach.

 

It was over six hours later when the surgery was over, and Lance got moved to recovery for further monitoring. When Keith was told his room number he ran as fast as he could, wanting to see Lance—be reassured that he’s alive—see how bad he really is to need _six fucking hours_ of surgery. He ignores his friends calling after him—ignores his co-workers telling him not to run in the hallway unless it’s an emergency. The love of his life just got out of surgery after being in a car accident—how much more urgent could it get? He stops in front of Lance’s room, throwing the door open and stepping into the room, gasping as his eyes fall on Lance.

 

Lance was laying on the hospital bed, most of his body covered in bandages, gauze, and casts. Wires and tubes connected to various machines—some to monitor how Lance is doing, some performing important functions. On any other occasion, Keith would take the time to notice which machines were hooked to patients. But this wasn’t an ordinary occasion. This was his soulmate—laying lifeless and injured in a hospital bed, showing no signs of waking up.

 

Keith slowly walks towards the bed, heart sinking as he finally processes the events of the day. He woke up this morning with Lance surprising him with breakfast before he left for work. He called Lance’s mom, struggling to keep up with the rapid change from English and Spanish as he solidifies travel plans and visits. He drove into work and greeted Coran and Shiro once he arrived, feeling happy and carefree—finally satisfied with his life—finally happy as a person—all because he met Lance.

 

Lance, who taught him how to take time for himself.

 

Lance, who sang dopy songs and told stupid jokes to try to cheer him up when he had a shitty day.

 

Lance, who was always patient, kind—loved Keith with _all_ his heart—always full of life and brightening up Keith’s whole world— _became_ Keith’s whole world.

 

Now here he lays, a once bright star, now dull and barely flickering, in a hospital room that seems dark and cold.

 

Keith pulls a chair close to the bedside, sitting down and reaching out for Lance’s hand. He carefully squeezes Lance’s hand, being mindful of the IV drip. He takes an uneasy breath, finding little comfort at the warmth radiating from his partner. _He’s not as warm as usual._ He closes his eyes tightly, fighting against the sting of tears behind his eyes. He has to keep himself together. He’s already cried tonight. He had to be strong—if not for himself, then for Lance.

 

He lets his head fall forward and rest on the mattress, exhaustion sinking deep in his bones. He unintentionally drifts off in a restless sleep, gripping tightly on Lance’s hand as he falls asleep.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Keith feels warm fingers comb through his hair, slowly pulling him out of his slumber. He lifts his head up and yawns, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before looking up to see who woke him up. It takes a moment for his vision to focus—probably because he forgot to take his contacts out—but when he sees that warm, familiar smile he got used to seeing every morning warmth starts to fill his chest. “Lance…?”

 

Lance smiles, albeit not as bright as usual, but that was expected of someone in the hospital. “Hey.” He croaks, voice rough from disuse. He reaches out and takes Keith’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “We have got to stop meeting like this.”

 

Keith couldn’t help but smile, remembering their first meeting in the ER three years ago. He chuckles, lifting Lance’s hand to press a kiss to his knuckles. “We do, it’s starting to become a habit.”

 

Lance chuckles, then winces as his laughter caused his ribs to hurt. “Man—that driver sure did a number on me. I’d hate to see what happened to the car.”

 

Keith squeezes Lance’s hand, closing his eyes tight to fight back the tears as he shakes his head. “That’s not important—what’s important is that you’re okay.”

 

Lance cracks a smile, twining their fingers together and chuckles. “I’m probably more cast than man at this point, but yeah, I’m okay.”

 

Keith huffs, scooting forward in his chair so that he could rest his head on Lance’s leg. “Shut up. You know what I mean.” Lance hisses in pain as Keith’s chin digs in one of his wounds, causing Keith to sit up straight and squeaks out. “Sorry! Sorry—”

 

Lance squeezes Keith’s hand as he shakes his head. “It’s okay. Really.” He gazes into Keith’s eyes, his smile falling and replaced with a serious look. “Marry me.”

 

Keith blinks, caught off guard with Lance’s sudden question before he squeaks out, cheeks tinted red. “What—what--?”

 

“You heard me.” He reaches up to hold Keith’s cheek in his hand, gazing deeply into his eyes as he repeats himself, voice steady and strong. “Life is short, Keith, and accidents happen. If an accident like this could rip us apart at any moment, I don’t want to live another moment without being married to you.”

 

Keith blushes deeper, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes as he bites his bottom lip. He hangs his head, shoulders shaking as he leans into Lance’s hand. “Damn it Lance—I was going to propose on our trip!”

 

Lance pauses, cheeks tinting pink as he lifts Keith’s chin up, making eye contact with him as he asks, voice wavering slightly. “Were you really?”

 

Keith nods, reaching down into his bag and pulling out the small velvet box. Lance gasps as Keith opens the box, revealing a silver ring with a ruby and sapphire imbedded in the band.  He holds the ring out to Lance as he pouts, mumbling under his breath. “I had it all planned out—we’d spend the day with your family—getting me ‘properly’ introduced like you’ve been wanting for a long time, then after dinner we’d take a walk on Varadero beach where I’d propose. But then you had to get hit by a car and propose after being asleep for—” He cuts himself off, then check his watch to see that it was four in the morning, “almost nine hours after being in surgery for six—scaring me to death and making me worried that I’d have to live _without_ you and _you_ get to proposing first?!”

 

Lance tugs at Keith, a wide smile on his face as he whispers out. “Hey, come here.” Keith reluctantly agrees, standing up to sit on the edge of the bed as Lance pulls him down for a kiss, barely there and soft and sweet, with just a tint off sadness from the situation they were in. Lance slowly pulls away and smiles, running a hand through Keith’s hair as he coos. “You can do your beach proposal when we reschedule our trip—but I’m wearing the ring.”

 

Keith chuckles, resting his forehead against Lance’s as he cups his face in his hands. “That your way of saying yes?”

 

Lance smiles, reaching up to squeeze Keith’s hand. “Technically I asked first—and you didn’t say yes so—”

 

“Oh my god—Lance—” Lance chuckles as Keith leans back, gazing into Lance’s eyes and feeling relieved to see his love so full of life. He takes Lance’s hand and kisses his palm, smiling crookedly. “Okay, yes.”

 

Lance smiles, twining their fingers together and weakly tugging at Keith’s hand. “I love you too. Now, can I have my ring?”

 

Keith leans forward and kisses Lance’s forehead, smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Alright. But I’m not getting you another engagement ring when I propose for real.” He takes the ring out of the box and slips it on Lance’s finger, warmth filling his chest as the sight of the ring resting on his beloved’s finger.

 

“Aww, I can’t have two engagement rings?” Lance pouts, or at least tries to pout as much as his bandages and stitches allowed.

 

Keith chuckles and shakes his head, leaning forward to press another kiss to his lips. “Nope. Just the one and me.”

 

Lance blushes a bit and smiles softly, whispering as he grabs Keith’s hand. “I’m okay with that.”

 

The couple talks for a few more minutes, exchanging kisses and “I love you”s with moonlight peeking through the hospital curtains. One of the night nurses interrupted them to give Lance another dose of his pain killers after a quick medical evaluation. After the nurse “prescribes rest” (something that Keith would have argued on a different day), Keith found himself some blankets and the nurse brought him a padded recliner chair for him to spend the night in.

 

Lance pouts over at Keith, letting out a yawn as his pain medicine starts to kick in. “Not gonna share the bed with me?”

 

Keith scoots the recliner as far over as he could, sitting down before putting the pillow behind his head and the blanket in his lap. “And pull out your catheter or IV in your sleep? I highly doubt you want a ripped urethra or bruised blood vessel? That’s not pleasant, love.”

 

Lance scrunches up his face, grunting as he turns his head to look up at the ceiling. “I guess not…” He trails off, then reaches a hand out to Keith.

 

Keith looks over at Lance, smiling at the silent invitation offered by his partner as he reaches over to twine his fingers with Lance’s. He squeezes Lance’s hand, gazing at him as affection swells in his chest. “I love you.”

 

Lance looks at Keith and smiles sleepily, squeezing back and whispering. “I love you too.”

 

Keith watches as Lance falls asleep, taking a moment to watch him, try to memorize how Lance looked asleep. He wasn’t as peaceful as he usually slept, but he was stuck in a hospital bed with casts and bandages restricting his movements. _Plus, Lance prefers to sleep on his side._ He glances down at their joint hands, giving Lance’s hand a tight squeeze as he bites his bottom lip. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he needed the reassurance of Lance’s hand in his to remind himself that he was there—beaten and broken in a few places—but there, alive, _breathing._

 

When Shiro told Keith about the car accident his heart shattered in two. Just the thought of losing Lance devastated him—caused him to cry for the first time in years. Lance was his sunshine, lighting up his life from the moment they first met. When the idea that Lance—his sun and stars, no longer in his life—he didn’t know if he would survive.

 

Despite being exhausted from the day’s events, Keith couldn’t sleep, his mind plagued with thoughts of what could have been—both good and bad. They could have been in Cuba at this very moment, getting picked up at the airport by Lance’s parents with Keith getting overwhelmed with the onslaught of new faces as he met Lance’s family in person for the first time. He’d be nervous—both with meeting Lance’s parents and the planned proposal—but seeing Lance happy would have been worth it.  They could be driving down the coast to the town where Lance grew up, his boyfriend telling stories from his childhood while also catching up with his family. Keith would probably get buried in an onslaught of questions from Lance’s family, but he’d try his best to answer them all. He’d be an overwhelmed, nervous wreck, but Lance would be happy, which would make him happy. Probably the happiest time of their lives.

 

But they also could have been down at the morgue—Lance stuck in a frozen drawer with Keith having to identify his body. He’d have to go back to their apartment alone, a place he used to look forward going to at the end of the day, but would dread going to without Lance waiting for him behind the door. He’d have to tell Lance’s family, tell them that instead of seeing their son and meeting his boyfriend they’d have to plan a funeral instead. He wouldn’t be able to continue living his life without Lance being in it.

 

Keith squeezes his hand tighter, choking down the tears that wanted to fall at his last thought. As if sensing his discomfort, Lance’s hand subconsciously tightens around his, reassuring him and pushing his negative thoughts away. He takes a shuddery breath, closing his eyes and listening to Lance breathe. With each breath Lance took, his reassurance that everything is okay grows.

 

Lance is alive.

 

Everything is fine.

 

They’re fine.

 

He’s fine.

 

Keith opens his eyes to gaze at Lance’s silhouette, battered, but not beaten, sleeping as peacefully as possible with his injuries and the uncomfortable hospital bed. He’ll have to remind himself that Lance was okay, that he’s a fighter. He’s strong, if anyone could make a full recovery after such a horrible accident, its Lance.

 

And Keith was going to be with him every step of the way.

 

Through sickness and in health.

 

Good times, and bad.

 

Till death do they part.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know if you liked the fic by leaving a comment or a kudos! 
> 
> Constructive criticism is also appreciated
> 
> Also you can follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mammahen) for updates on my writing or to scream at me about Voltron, my AUs, or any fics I'm working on.


End file.
